Showing Support for the Clean Water Rule

Voices from all across the United States are speaking up for the protection of clean water. Check out what these faith leaders, farmers, and sportsmen and women have to say this week about why clean water is important for each of them.

“For nearly 15 years, 10,000 miles of streams and thousands of acres of wetlands in Pennsylvania have been at greater risk of being polluted or destroyed because of confusion over what bodies of water are protected under the Clean Water Act. That has all changed thanks to a new rule from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that will restore protections to the waters critical to our farming economy, fish and wildlife habitat, and the drinking supply for two out of three Pennsylvanians.”

“All of life requires water, it’s something we take for granted, but shouldn’t. Dirty water in our lakes, streams ad headwaters remains a constant threat and we must work to ensure that kind of pollution doesn’t harm our children and loved ones.

“Who among us was lucky enough as a child to have played with a toy boat in a little park brook or a neighborhood creek? We’d launch our craft and watch in wonder as the swirling currents washed it downstream. We’d chase along, pluck the toy from the water, run back upstream and set it adrift again. Eventually, we might have let our boat keep going. As it disappeared we’d think, ‘It is going to a big river now.”

“Regional studies and stories from across the country document the water struggles of low-income communities and communities of color and demonstrate that there is much progress to be made before water justice is achieved in the United States.We must be faithful stewards of the Earth. And, our faith traditions teach us that we must care for vulnerable populations, including our communities of color and low-income communities. The Clean Water Rule will enhance protection of water that have significant populations of African-Americans, Native Americans, Hispanic and low-income families.”

“Last August, a toxic algae bloom in Lake Erie left half a million people in the Toledo area unable to use their own tap water for drinking, bathing, or cooking. A year later, with another algae outbreak growing in Toledo’s water supply, one thing is clear: If we want safe drinking water, we need better protections for our waterways.”